If I Were The Rain
by BlackLolitarose
Summary: An alternative ending to the Ulquiorra fight that twists the story in drastic ways. In a moment of desperation Inoue must choose whose life is most important: hers or Ulquiorra's. Will death be enough to separate these two as Heaven is separated from Earth, or will the rain bind them together again?
1. Sacrifice

**A/N: Here is a story I started a long time ago and stopped without it going anywhere! Now I've come back to try and finish it, or at least go as long as I can. My original idea came from an alternate ending to the Ulquiorra fight but now it has grown into a full UlquiHime fanfiction. My writing for this is slow...but I will continue to try writing it! I hope you readers can be patient with me and don't be afraid to bug me now and then to keep going! I hope you enjoy my fanfiction, If I Were The Rain.**

The final battle was happening.

There I sat, rooted in place. Not by the sheer force of Kurosaki Ichigo and Ulquiorra Ciffer's monstrous reiatsu, but by shock. Things were not supposed to end up this way.

Ulquiorra was our enemy. I should've expected something like this from the beginning.

I knew Kurosaki-kun was coming to save me, but I never thought he would fight Ulquiorra. Maybe I just didn't want to think of the possibility…

Since I'd met him, Ulquiorra had changed in my eyes. At first he'd scared me, and then later he'd interested me. He'd asked me about the heart and I'd wanted to help him somehow. During my imprisonment on Hueco Mundo I'd felt myself draw closer and closer to him.

I did not want to see him die, of that I was sure.

For Kurosaki-kun it was…different. I thought I loved him but now….I was so confused.

I didn't want either of them to die.

Their blades clashed together, their reiatsu creating a thunderous roar. Kurosaki-kun in his strange new form that resembled a hollow, and Ulquiorra in his Resurrección form. Ishida-kun was also nearby, hurt from his previous encounter with Ulquiorra. Both Ulquiorra and Kurosaki-kun seemed to be on the same level, until something changed...

I watched with a scream stuck in my throat as Kurosaki-kun suddenly got the upper hand. He grabbed Ulquiorra's arm, ripping it free, and smashed his face into the ground. Ulquiorra came back in full force with his cero, but Kurosaki-kun just blocked the blast with his hand. Ulquiorra' eyes grew wide.

"_This is bad! At this rate Ulquiorra could –"_

Who did I want to win? Both of them?

I stood up quickly, my legs stiff.

Kurosaki-kun slashed Ulquiorra across the chest, and then pinned him to the wall with his reiatsu alone. It rolled off of him in waves, like darkness that poisoned the air.

"_No."_ Inoue whispered in her mind. "_At this rate Kurosaki-kun will win. Ulquiorra will-"_

His sword stabbed through Ulquiorra's chest, and rooted him to the wall, making it impossible for the hollow to move.

"_No."_

Kurosaki-kun drew his head back, and red light beginning to form at the tips of his horns.

Ulquiorra's green, cat-like eyes widened for a moment in fear, and then slowly grew sad.

A growl slid out of the Hollow form's teeth as the red light grew larger by the second.

"_No._

I watched as Ulquiorra slowly slid his eyes over to me. They looked weary, but also deep and unending. They reminded me of our first meeting, and of every time he'd looked at me, watching me in a similar way.

The idea that those eyes would never fill with the emotions I knew Ulquorra was looking for…that he would never find his heart again…it was too much for me.

Anguish overwhelmed me.

The red cero's energy was so large, it was about to explode. Ulquiorra eyes slipped close as he resigned himself to his fate.

Everything became clear to me. The world around me slowed down to a crawl. Ulquiorra could not die. A world without him seemed so lost, for some reason.

I would not let him die.

My feet started to move before I realized what was happening. I wasn't sure if I would make it to Ulquiorra in time. I heard a scream and knew it was my own voice, shouting his name.

I never asked myself what I was doing, or why I was doing it.

My mind was too busy processing two more important details.

The first one was that Ulquiorra would die if I didn't make it there.

The second was powerful and unprecedented and it didn't make any sense.

I loved Ulquiorra.

When I saw his body relax in defeat, I prepared for the end and pushed my feet faster.

The Hollow form did not react – he was so caught up in his victory that he didn't notice me sprinting towards him. I didn't say the words that would activate my shun shun rikka since my shield wouldn't be powerful enough to save us and the blast would surely incinerate my fairy spirits.

Far away in Karuakura town, rain fell outside Tatsuki's window.

"_The rain which binds together heaven and earth..."_

As I ran I raised my arms up to shield him from the cero. The Hollow released the blast in a giant swell of reiatsu that seemed to swallow the world whole.

In that second, with a final feeling of relief, I reached Ulquiorra.


	2. Don't Leave Me Behind

Blinding…

Everything was so bright and I couldn't see. What was happening?

It was red… Everywhere...and I felt like there was someone behind me, trying to shove me out of the way. But it was too late for that...

What had I done anyway? It hurt…

I wasn't sure what I'd done.

But I felt tired all of a sudden. I wanted to just lie down and close my eyes...

"NO! Inoue-san come on! STAY WITH US!"

The voice sounded familiar. I knew that voice from somewhere...

"Oh no… No, no NO! You can FIGHT this!"

...Ishida-kun?

"This can't be happening…"

The voice started crying…Ishida-kun's voice. I never knew he cared so much about me. It made me grateful. For that, and a lot of other things too…

Suddenly, the haze seemed to clear slightly, and I remembered why I was there, lying on the ground, dying. It was so **he **could live.

Everything became clear right then.

I wasn't going to go back to Tatsuki-chan and the rest of my friends.

I wasn't going to live out the rest of my life…because I was about to die.

But for some reason, I wasn't scared. I'd made a choice, and I didn't regret it.

And now... there was something I needed to do. Something I HAD to do before the end.

I willed myself to rise to the surface.

My body was so heavy. It hurt... But I had to do this.

Slowly, I felt my weight return. My eyelids opened ever so slightly to see Ishida-kun's face above me. His heart-broken expression changed to shock when he saw me waking up. A disbelieving smile spread across his face.

"Inoue-san? Inoue-san!"

I tried to look around slowly as best as I could.

Far off to the right, Kurosaki-kun was kneeling on the ground, as if he were gasping for breath. He must have been exhausted from changing into that other form. And then…far away to the left...

I couldn't see him. Where was he?  
I had to know.

"Ul..." I stuttered. It hurt so much to speak, but I needed to.

"Ul.. "

Would he even respond to me now? What reason did he have?  
I was the enemy. He would never care what happened to me... It wouldn't matter to him whether I lived or died.

I thought that, but then I heard the sound of sonido in the air. Suddenly he was at my side and looking down at me, never bothering to notice Ishida-kun.

"Ulq..uiorra."

Without thinking, I reached my hand out to him. I wasn't sure what would happen... Maybe that he would bat it away, but to my surprise he didn't flinch when I placed my hand on his.

"You are such a stupid woman," he whispered, his face grave. "Why did you do something so illogical? You knew you couldn't shield such an attack, yet you ran anyway. I will never begin to understand you humans..."

He said the words so nonchalantly and yet, even though he wore the same emotionless mask as always, I could detect something different than usual. Maybe it was his eyes… I couldn't be sure, but it almost seemed like he was trying to hide what he was really feeling. As if, behind that mask he was concealing an unbearable pain.

Did he really care about me after all?

Just the idea filled me with such happiness...

And maybe, if he cared about me just a little bit, he would listen to me…just this once.

"Please," I said in a hurry.

"You have to... You have do the right thing now… You can't waste the rest of your life on this. PLEASE. Choose your own path now. Don't listen to Aizen anymore."

"And why would I listen to **you**?" He asked.

His words hurt, but I'd been expecting them. I knew he was right…

"Fine then," I smiled painfully. "Don't listen to me."

His eyes widened slightly. And for just a moment, in those eyes I glimpsed some of what he'd been hiding.

But I could feel my time slipping from me. I wasn't done yet though. There was just something more I had to do.

I glanced at Kurosaki-kun again, several yards away. It seemed he still wasn't awake enough to realize what was happening. So I just looked up at the sky, speaking to both Ishida-kun, and Ulquiorra.

"Tell Kurosaki-kun... I forgive him. That it's okay..."

"Inoue?" Ishida-kun whispered.

The sky, which had been so dark seemed to be getting brighter, and the pain I'd been feeling was going away for some reason.

I felt Ulquiorra's cold fingers curl around my hand and tighten, as if he wanted me to stay.

It was the last thing I felt.

"NO!" Ishida-kukn shouted.

But I was already gone...

_If I were the rain..._

I would fall forever. And I wouldn't have to leave you behind...

* * *

The soft blue light of Inoue's reiatsu blinked off once, and then faded slowly, like a candle being snuffed out.

That's when Ichigo's head jerked up. His Hollow form was gone now, and it was just him. He looked with wide eyes at Inoue's still form, some distance away.

"Inoue?"He whisperd. His voice was small, so afraid of what he was about to find...

"Inoue..." His voice shook with fear.

"Her reiatsu. Ishida... Why is her reiatsu gone? Is this a joke?" He laughed a short, breathless laugh.

"It's funny. It's funny, alright. You can wake up now Inoue."

Ishida didn't answer him. He only looked down. Ulquiorra's expression seemed to be as emotionless as before and yet, he couldn't take his eyes away from the girl's still form. As if he was trapped there.

"Inoue? INOUE?" Ichigo began to say.

"Inoue..?"he asked as tears began to stream down his face.

His body realized before his mind did.

"Inoue!? INOUE!?" "

He screamed her name again and again until he collapsed on the ground.

Then, he looked to where Ulquiorra was still sitting and their eyes met for just a second.

"It was all your fault.." Ichigo whispered. "She's dead... becuase of **you**. I'll kill you… I'll kill you... I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

**A/N: What do you all think? For anyone who's actually been reading this since I first put it out (if you still exist I'm amazed and very grateful!) these first chapters have some changes in them... But one thing I couldn't change is the sense that Ichigo has feelings for Inoue. I must apologize to the IchiHime haters for that and I hope it won't ruin it for you. Don't worry, this will be 100% a UlquiHime fanfiction! And I hope you review if you'd like to ^^ **


	3. Her Will

He gripped his blade in one hand, as his eyes burned with hatred.

Ulquiorra stared back at him coldly, and the lifeless body of a girl lay between the two opposing forces.

Kurosaki Ichigo stood slowly, but with determination. He'd already decided.

He was going to kill the one who had taken Inoue away from him.

He was going to kill Ulquiorra Cifer.

"Wait."

The voice came from Ulquiorra.

Ichigo didn't understand. Did Ulquiorra think he would listen to him so easily?

But just as Ichigo was about to take a step, Ulquiorra started to speak.

"Would Inoue Orihime have wanted this, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo was surprised for a second, but then he registered what the espada had said.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME!" He screamed. "You only treated her as a thing! You don't know her! AND NOW YOU'VE KILLED-"

"WOULD INOUE HAVE WANTED THIS!?" Ulquiorra retaliated.

Ichigo fell silent, shocked to see the arrancarr in such a state.

"You say you know her. But do you really? She was an irrational human, who spoke about hearts as if they were real. I couldn't stand it... But, I believe I came to understand her just a little... All I know is that Inoue Orihime would not want you to fight me." He turned to walk in the away.

"Are you running!?"

"No. I'm doing something even worse. I'm following the orders of a **human**."

Ichigo knew he should run after him, so they could finish this. But, the arrancar's words continued to ring in his head...

_"Would she have wanted this?"_

He remembered how she had run in front of his cero. She'd given up her life to save that arrancar, and although he wanted to chase Ulquiorra down right now and kill him for that, he couldn't. Inoue had given her life to save Ulquiorra's, and no matter what, he couldn't go against that.

The leftover energy from the fight had disappeared. Ichigo could feel how sore his body was and he wanted to lie down for once and sleep. He wanted to forget about the body that was lying over there on the ground, for just a little while...

With a gasp, his knees buckled, and he couldn't hold his weight any longer. As he fell to the ground he wondered "_Is this how you felt when you died Inoue?"_

Ulquiorra walked away, until he faded into the distance.

**A/N: I realize Ichigo doesn't sound a lot like himself...My bad. But I'm honestly more worried about getting Ulquiorra right in this one than I am about Ichigo. ^^; Review if you so choose?**


	4. Time Passes

"How is he?"

Rukia's voice was quiet. Somber.

"He's getting better…I think," Tatsuki's voice held the same tone. Rukia was calling again from Soul Society (although Tastuki wasn't aware of this).

"It's only been two months," Tatsuki said. "It will take much longer than that. For all of us. We've all been changed now Rukia…" her voice grew shaky.

"You should have seen their faces." A small, silent tear crept out, even though she swore she was done crying.

"There was no class that day… We couldn't study so the teacher sent us home. And, I never realized how much everyone loved her…until I told them the news. Ichigo thinks he has it so hard…he doesn't understand how** I** feel. How **WE **feel. She clutched the phone in frustration, trying to calm herself.

"Yes," Rukia said. "We loved her as much as he did… and nothing seems alright anymore… when it comes to Inoue…" her voice trailed off, ending her sentence for her.

"Yeah," Tatsuki laughed a little. "That girl sure knows how to mess things up." Rukia laughed softly in agreement.

"But Rukia," Tatsuki went on, shifting her weight to her left foot. "Recently I got this feeling. I don't know what it was. Just this feeling…" She couldn't say the name of the person it reminded her of.

"Yes," Rukia agreed, to Tatsuki's surprise. "I think I understand what you're trying to say."

"Well anyway," Tatsuki changed the subject quickly, "Call back soon, okay?"

"I will. Goodbye."

"Bye, Rukia."

The phone clicked off. Tatsuki dropped her arm that was holding the phone and leaned against the wall as another tear ran down her face.

It was a feeling of Inoue.

"Orihime where are you?"

…..

A dark void. Like space. Like a starless night. Like the bottom of the ocean. And within this void there appeared a small ripple of light. Glowing.


	5. The Eyes

There was nothing. Nothing at all except for a dark void. A dark void that held no color or life. Dark like a starless night.

Nothingness.

And then…there was something. Something appeared within the nothingness. I could feel my body; my heart.

Where was I? Who was I? I was…nothing. I didn't know…

The word I found through this was _remember._ I had to remember. I didn't understand why but it was something I needed to do. Remember.

I found my eyes and closed them. And I saw something much different from the darkness around me.

A pair of green eyes. Dark, sad, looking at me.

_Who…?_

And then I saw a red flash of light converging around me. Eyes that had turned bright yellow. A girl holding my hand in front of a grave. A gentle smile from someone close to me… A scream, a crash. A hospital bed. A white a mask that was broken in half…

My name….What was it?

Inoue Orihime.

The world burst into light, and I was soaring upward. There was somewhere I had to go; a place at the top of this world that I had to reach.

_**I must get there.**_

Bright, golden light surrounded me, embracing me. I flew, and flew until finally…..I reached the end.

The end of everything and the end of nothing.

The light was gone.

* * *

My eyes… I could feel them. But this time it was different.

My eyes fluttered open. The sun was hanging in the middle of the sky, radiating heat down on me.

"_The sun...Huh."_

My fingers curled, scraping against dirt and rock on a hard ground. I could feel my hands…

My legs.

My arms.

The rest of my body.

A cool wind blew across me, blowing some of my hair into my face. I was **somewhere.** I, Inoue Orihime was no longer…nowhere. Slowly, I turned my head to the right. There was a wall next to me and I sensed a wall on my other side too. I looked up.

The walls extended a bit into the sky until they ended at strange, shingled roofs. They looked hundreds of years old. As if they were from a former time period. I'd seen walls like this before…

Slowly I got up, surprised at how light my body felt. And I realized I was wearing something strange: A robe, like a yukata.

The two walls came to a dead end behind me, and continued on in front of me. I seemed to be in an alley of some sort…Why did this all seem so familiar?

I got up and started walking. Turning corner after corner, walking down different streets; the walls never seemed to end. The sky was a brilliant blue and completely cloudless. Suddenly I came to a street with people. There were many small houses with people sitting and talking outside them. Children ran, chasing each other through the street, passing stalls selling a variety of goods. Where was I? I thought about asking someone but my feet carried me forward. Not one of them paid me a glance as I passed, and they were all wearing the same kind of clothes as me. I walked and walked through many streets… Some crowded, and some deserted.

The smell of dust and dirt, the obvious poverty, and a feeling of power coming from the walls…It was all familiar to me. Without thinking, I reached my hands up to my ears, expecting to find something there for some reason. My fingers touched two flower-shaped crystals. _"My hairpins."_ I was suddenly filled with a warm feeling as I heard a chorus of voices.

"_We are a part of you. And we will always be with you."_

I continued walking, realizing suddenly that I was hungry, but ignored the sensation. My feet were taking my somewhere new; I let them.

And then….

They stopped.

I was standing in front of a wall very different than the other walls that lined the streets. This one was pure white, and so tall I could barely see the end of it. But, drawing my attention away from the wall was a giant, standing before what looked like the wall's gate. He was dark skinned and five times the size of a normal man.

I knew him from somewhere…..

He peered down at me.

"Orihime-chan? Is that you!?"

I stared at him, my eyes getting wider by the second. I suddenly found myself saying his name.

"Jidanbou-san."

The memories surged like a wave, and everything came flooding back to me.

Memories, feelings, powers: they filled me up, putting everything back in place.

**I remembered. **

This was Soul Society.

I was dead. I died when I was hit by Kurosaki-kun's cero, never thinking about this place. I forgot that running into his cero might not be the end….

I was dead, but I was still here.

In my mind I saw a pair of green eyes staring back at me.

_Ulquiorra._


	6. The Question

**A/N: I'm so sorry that this has taken so long. I stopped writing this for a long time, but I've finally started again. Recently, I made some changes to the earlier chapters because I intend to continue this fanfiction. It might be written very slowly and there might be times where I stop for a while because I don't have time for it, but I hope some still decide to read this. ^^ I hope you can bear with me and I hope you enjoy it. And don't be afraid to bug me about writing it if I'm slow with uploading my chapters! Thankyou.**

* * *

The floor underneath me was hard and uncomfortable, but it was nice to be able to sit on something again. I looked around at the small room I was in. The sliding doors behind me were open, showing a small garden. I wasn't completely sure where I was, only that it was in the house of a captain.

After I'd remembered everything, Jidanbou-san opened the gate to Seireitei for me. It didn't take long locate a vice-captain. I was lucky to find Hinamori-san, who ended up bringing me here. She was shocked to find me at first, and then a smile broke out on her face. I never asked where she was taking me; she only said the captain would know what to do.

The sound of a door sliding open jolted me to the present, and I looked up as Ukitake-san came rushing in. So he was the one Hinamori-san brought me to. I smiled at him as he sat down on a cushion, a few front from me.

"Inoue-san, it's so wonderful to have you back!" he said with a smile that mirrored my own. "Kuchiki-san gave me the report of your death two months ago, and it was unexpected…to hear of your passing…But this is even more unexpected," he finished with a laugh.

I didn't want to be rude, but I had to ask.

"How are my friends? Are they doing well? And what about the war?"

"Well, everyone survived it. We defeated Aizen and have him imprisoned here. As for your friends, they're doing just as expected," he paused. "They aren't physically hurt, but it was clear that your death changed them. I've seen it in Kuchiki."

"Is she here?"

"Yes, and I told her about your return. However, I didn't know if you wanted to tell the others yourself," he said, scratching his head, "so I haven't sent word of it yet. But if you wait, Kuchiki should be here very short-"

"Inoue!" a familiar voice came from down the hallway, followed by the sound of running footsteps. "Where is she!? Inoue!"

Suddenly, an out-of-breath Rukia burst into the room. When she saw me, a tear ran down her face.

"Inoue!" she said as she ran and then hugged me. I hugged her back tightly, feeling moisture in my eyes too. Even though time had stopped for me during my death, it seemed like years had passed since I'd seen my friend.

"It feels like it's been forever Kuchiki-san."

I didn't notice Ukitake-san leave the room to give us a moment. I was too happy, seeing someone dear to my heart who I never thought I'd see again.

* * *

Once the tears stopped, I unleashed the questions that had been swirling in my head since I woke up.

"How are they all doing?" "Is Ishida-san's arm okay?" "What happened to the Hyogyoku?"

And Rukia asked me things too. She wanted to know what had happened to me in that dark, in-between world and I told her everything I remembered, which wasn't very much. Rukia came to a conclusion about something I hadn't thought about much: that as a human spirit, my soul had found its way to soul society without the help of a shinigami. She thought this was impressive, and I was happy to hear that my apartment was still available. Still, the most important question hadn't been asked yet, and I was too afraid to do it. The need to speak up was a burning in the pit of my stomach, but there was fear there too.

It took me a minute to work up my courage and spit it out.

"Is-" I began, and stopped. Sucking in a breath, I started again and tried to keep my voice even. I didn't want anyone to find out about my attachment to Ulquiorra when I didn't even understand it myself.

"Whatever happened to Ulquiorra?" I asked, while the thoughts _Please let him not be dead _ran through my head. I tried to keep my expression nonchalant as Rukia's went blank with confusion.

"Why would that matter?"

_Please let him be alive._

"I just want to know." She gave me another puzzled look and then went on. "Ichigo told me everything that happened, to you and to that hollow. He said that after you died, Ulquiorra refused to fight and went off somewhere. No one's seen him since then. He's vanished."

My head felt like it was spinning. Why would Ulquiorra have left without finishing the fight? It didn't match what I knew about him at all. Unless-

No, it couldn't be that. Ulquiorra would never have actually listened to me and stopped the fighting like I'd asked… But what if he did?

_More importantly, Ulquiorra is alive. Or at least, he was two months ago. He's out there in Hueco Mundo somewhere and I'm… sitting around!_

The need I felt to see Ulquiorra wasn't rational, but it couldn't be ignored. I had to meet him again and try to figure out what had happened to me. I had to figure out what my feelings really were, and that would never happen unless I acted.

I'd been given a second chance, and now I had to use it. My mind was made up.

_I'm going to find Ulquiorra._


	7. See You Soon

"_I have to find him. I have to find him!"_

Those words had been screaming in my ears since I found out that Ulquiorra disappeared. I'd left Soul Society in a hurry and now I was at Urahara-san's shop.

Before leaving Soul Society I asked Kuchiki-san not to tell the others. They would find out soon enough and I didn't have time to meet up and reunite with everyone (even if I wanted to). Ulquiorra was out there, and he could be blaming himself for my death.

I couldn't stop to think about what I was doing, I just had to go.

Kuchiki-san wouldn't let me through the gate without two Shinigami escorts. I tried to explain that I would be fine without them but she wouldn't budge. In the end, I was glad to have them. My mind was in a frenzy and it was hard enough to find the way through the Senkai gate without also having ones thoughts preoccupied by something else, or rather someone else. As we rushed toward the living world I was suddenly reminded of the last time I'd been here. The time when Ulquiorra had come for me…

It was hard to think about it. I tried to focus on something else instead of wishing for a certain, dangerous Arrancar to show up again.

It felt like hours within the dark, gloomy space. I expected to be worn out by the time we reached the living world but my body felt light and full of energy. Just one of the perks to being a spirit, I guessed.

When I stepped out onto the familiar streets of Karakura, the sense of homecoming was overwhelming. I felt a little teary-eyed since the last time I was here I never expected to return…

The friendly shinigami said their goodbyes and headed back to Soul Society. I was alone now.

Despite it being nighttime, I wasn't afraid. This was my town after all!

The sky was full of stars and the streets were empty. It was like I was the only person in the world.

I felt a pang of sadness when I realized Tatsuki-chan's house was only minutes away. It would've been so nice to stop by and say hello, maybe even have dinner and some delicious desert… But I'd made my rule clear. I couldn't drop in suddenly and let them know I was okay because it would be too hard and take up too much time. There was something else I needed to do and so I tried not to think about my friends too much.

_Just keep moving Orihime._

With a sigh I turned onto a different street and headed to a familiar place.

* * *

When Urahara-san saw me he was surprised, but not as shocked as I'd thought he'd be.

"_Urahara-san is prepared for everything isn't he? Even my return from the death…"_

I didn't give him to chance to ask me what I was doing at his shop alive, knocking on his door in the middle of the night. I simply bowed and said "Please get me to Hueco Mundo."

He stood and stared at me for a moment before finally answering. "Why do you suddenly want to go there, Inoue-san?"

"I…" It was hard to explain since I wasn't completely sure myself. I slowly straightened up and tried to find the words.

"I just have to. There's someone there that I need to see again… I don't want the others to know about this either; it has to be me alone or he won't…" I balled my hands into fists. "Please help me Urahara-san. It's the only thing I'll ever ask of you, I promise."

He sighed and adjusted his hat.

"Going to Hueco Mundo by yourself… You'll be walking into a death trap Inoue-san. As a spirit, the hollows there will go after you . Do you think you can kill them to save yourself?"

I shrugged unsurely. "I don't know about that." Killing had always been hard for me, even if it was only hollows.

"But if I stay here and do nothing…,"I continued, "I'll never see him again." Tears welled in my eyes as I said words.

"Inoue-san," Urahara-san said softly. "He may regard you as an enemy. Are you prepared for that?"

I didn't have to think about my answer.

"Yes."

It was impossible to understand where this confidence in my decision was coming from. My feelings for Ulquiorra were still hard for me to name, and I would probably die if I chased after him, but at the same time it felt like there wasn't any other option. My only choice was to look for Ulquiorra.

Although I didn't understand it, the need to see him resounded inside of me.

I faced Urahara-san, hoping he would see all of this in my one-word answer.

"Please, Urahara-san."

"Dear oh dear," he muttered, but I could sense acceptance from him. "I've kept the gate ready in case a situation like this came up. It will only take a moment to complete the preparations. If you want to go, please follow me this way."

He disappeared into the store and I hurried after him, everything in me tingling with relief and excitement.

_I can't believe he agreed to this!_

He paused before the entrance to the underground training area.

"Ururu, please get Inoue-san ready."

The little girl appeared from the shadows and she made me jump.

"Here," she said timidly, and held out what looked like a cape or cloak of some kind.

"Is this to protect me from the sand?" I asked.

"Camalflouge," was all she said in answer. It was white and sure to blend in with the terrain of the hollow world.

She helped me put it on (it was surprisingly light) and we both followed Urahara-san underground.

Urahara-san was in the middle of an incantation that I couldn't hear. He pulled out his soul slayer and stabbed into the air. Then, the air around the sword's end became warped until a line slit through space and ripped apart into a black opening.

"Garganta," I murmered, remembering the way the Arrancar get around. _"The gate is ready? That really __**was**__ fast."_

"This way, Inoue-san," Urahara indicated the black space. Ururu-chan held back with Jinta-kun and Tessai-san; all of them were watching me closely.

I walked over and stepped in front of the opening to garganta which hung in space.

Urahara-san began to instruct me.

"Once inside Garganta you must create a path of spirit particles for you to walk on. You must not fall off of that path, understand?"

I nodded, making sure to remember everything he was saying.

"Once inside Hueco Mundo you will not easily be able to return. There is nothing I have for you that can give you a way to reopen Garganta. You'll be stuck in there if you don't find who you're looking for. If you must, find Neliel, the Arrancar that helped Kurosaki-san."

"Nel-san?"

"She is friends with Kurosaki-san isn't she? I'm sure she'll help you. If worse comes to worst, she'll be your only way home.

"Okay, I'll make sure to find her if I have to."

There was a pause where neither I nor Urahara-san spoke, as if neither of us knew what to say.

Then, "This is it Inoue-san," he said from beside me. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's weird, but… I've never been more sure of anything in my life," I said with a faint smile which Urahara-san returned. "Don't die again Inoue-san. If you do I'll be the first one your friends come after," he joked.

I turned to him and bowed. "Thank you for this Urahara-san. I'll…," I swallowed over the lump in my throat, "I'll see you later."

With Urahara-san and the others watching I stepped into the gate and felt it close behind me.


	8. A New Path

Getting to Hueco Mundo proved to be difficult. The path Urahara-san instructed me to make from spirit particles was crumbly and hard to run on. At every second I thought I would fall off for sure, and had to concentrate harder to form it. It was scary but I'd been through worse.

"_I can't turn back, I have to find him. Don't run away yet Orihime!"_

As I continued running, forming the path became surprisingly easier and it boosted my confidence.

"_I'm getting good at this! Maybe I should enter a contest. I wonder if I'd win… But are there even contests for getting around Garganta? I bet the arrancar are better at it than I am. Maybe Ulquiorra-"_

My light thoughts ended there.

"_Ulquiorra…" _

Urahara-sans words came back to me.

"_He may regard you as an enemy. Are you prepared for that?"_

I knew that possibility wouldn't stop me from going to Hueco Mundo, and I'd told him yes at the time, but… Was I prepared for Ulquiorra to treat me as an enemy? Maybe even attack me?  
Back in Hueco Mundo, in the moments before my death I thought I knew the answer to everything. I didn't mind dying if Ulquorra killed me, I loved Ulquiorra… In those desperate moments everything had been clear, but now I was confused.

Do I really love Ulquiorra even if he doesn't love me? It was hard to tell what my heart was thinking.

Right now my heart was telling me to go and find him even if I had no idea what my feelings were. However, I knew something right then… Maybe I **was **prepared for Ulquiorra to regard me as an enemy. Strangely, I wanted to see Ulquiorra even if it meant being in danger of dying.

"_This is crazy Orihime! The plan isn't for Ulquiorra to kill me! The plan is…um…what is the plan? To say hi and leave?_

_No. That isn't enough. The reason I need to go isn't just so I can see him. I have to realize what my feelings truly are, and once I do…I need to talk to him about it. _

_That's the plan. I'll have to figure out the rest afterward."_

My lonely run through the darkness continued. As I went along my mind drifted to my friends.

"_Tatsuki-chan… I wonder what she's doing? She's going to kill me later for not telling her I'm alive! Oh, except… I'm not am I? I'm a spirit now."_

That took me to a different train of thought. _"Spirits don't eat right? And they don't have bodies, and they live in Soul Society."_

I felt like a dark cloud had formed over me.

"_Well…maybe it won't be so bad being a spirit. After all, Ulquiorra's one. Kuchiki-san is too! And both of them are happy- well Ulquiorra isn't very happy, but I don't think Kuchiki-san misses being human. Maybe I won't miss being human after long either."_

An interesting thought came to me.

"_I'm no longer in Kurosaki-kun's world anymore. I've moved beyond him, onto another place. During my time in Hueco Mundo, I thought about Kurosaki-san less and now…I'll be living in a different world. The time for me to rely on Kurosaki-san is past and my feelings for him…they're in the past too."_

Things are different. I'm dead now, and the one I think about isn't Kurosaki-san, it's…

The thought made me run faster and focus once again. I hurried even more than before and helped every moment that I was about to reach Hueco Mundo.

"_Please be there, waiting for me."_


	9. Hollow

A/N: I apologize for the confusing chapter you're about to read. This chapter is from Ulquiorra's POV and so I tried my best to write him and show how his world has become darker than it ever was after the death of Orihime. Most of what he says is based off of his story in Unmasked and so if you haven't read it I suggest you do because this may not make sense to you (btw it's short). Here's the translation I looked off of: .

* * *

Ulquiorra:

Hair that was filled with sunlight, even in a dark room. Eyes which held many kinds of these things called "emotions". A face which tried to remain reserved but would always betray the thoughts inside.

These were the things I saw when I closed my eyes.

Two months had passed since the day I left her soulless body with the orange-haired shinigami, and ever since that day, sleep had come in short moments and restlessly. No matter what dreams I had, she was there. Even when I had no dreams, I thought about her in sleep. During my conscious hours I would work to keep her from my mind every second; sometimes I would fail.

The woman named Inoue Orihime.

"_Even now you are strong-willed. You are set on finding me even when I hide."_

My life as a hollow had suddenly become that: Hollow. However, this was not unprecedented.

Three months ago the existence formed from nothingness suddenly changed with her appearance. That first time in the living world she stood and faced two enemies that she could not defeat. Even among our kind, this is courageous. Both her bravery and technique created something inside where there was nothing: Curiosity; interest. Both are hard to understand and so are hard to distinguish from each other.

In the void this was the first thing to be found. Before then, I spoke and I thought, but these did not come from the void.

This curiosity; this desire to learn – it was the beginning of the change. After that day the change progressed slowly but continued. I have never been able to make sense of what appeared inside the void and grew there; I never had the time to.

Soon after came the second change: the woman's death. Unexplainably, she tried to save me and ceased to be.

Once that happened, everything within the void stopped and disappeared. Nihility and the void – they have disappeared too. The void is gone; nothingness has been replaced.

What is this now? The humans must call this…

Emptiness.

A feeling of having nothing. Without the void, and without nothingness I am empty.

Empty… I can't understand why a human would have need of the word. Humans have hearts and therefore cannot have nothing. That we without hearts were named hollow proves this.

Although I was called a hollow, it wasn't until the change brought by the woman that I understand having nothing. Now I have become a true member of my kind. I am empty; I am hollow.

Where there was speech before, now there is silence. Where there was a yearning inside, now there is stillness.

I wander the empty desert and stare at the moon. Wherever I go I keep Las Nochas in my in my line of sight. Perhaps seeing it reminds me of the one who is gone. Perhaps there is no reason for why I do this.

The sun is gone; I stare at the moon.

"_The sun no longer reflects in my eyes. That which can not be reflected in my eyes does not exist._

The sun has ceased to be and the moon must now be my sun.

"_Just as the beginning, I have nothing and nothing to lose. Yes… this must be happiness."_


	10. A Certain Poem

After a long time of running a light finally came into view.

"A light! A light at the end of the tunnel! Hopefully I'm not dying again…"

I sprinted toward it, feeling the adrenaline race through me at the realization that this was it, and I was about to enter Hueco Mundo. The light grew in size as I neared it and finally I met it altogether.

It wrapped around me and blinded me until I couldn't see. Then I suddenly burst out of garganta and flew through the air until I landed in a heap. Sand filled my mouth and I hurried to spit it out.

"Ugh! Yuck!"

I sat up and realized where I was. There were white sand dunes all around, dead trees and a crescent moon in the night sky. After staring at that moon for weeks I would know it anywhere.

"Hueco Mundo," I breathed.

I was all alone in a vast world.

When I looked all around, I noticed Las Nochas. Although it looked somewhat close I knew it was actually far away and even from here I could see the damage done to the roof from the battle between Kurosaki-kun and Ulquiorra.

_Ulquorra…You're here aren't you?_

I stood up and brushed the sand from my protective cloak.

"Well…now what? I wonder where I should start…"

If I was going to look for Ulquiorra I had to try locating his reiatsu.

"Okay," I sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes. For the next few minutes I searched the area and concentrated as hard as I could on the memory of Ulquiorra and what his power felt like. When I felt nothing I soon realized this wouldn't be that easy.

"This place is too huge! There's no way I'll be able to find him like that."

It was too bad since that had been my only good idea. The only option left was to search for him blindly and that could take forever. I let out a sigh.

"_Don't let yourself get discouraged Orihime. You want this don't you?"_

Yes, of course I wanted this. I had to at least make sure he was okay… So I started walking.

I decided to walk in the direction of Las Nochas since it was the only thing in sight. Out in the open and alone, it felt like I was the only person in the entire world. It was hard to keep from talking to myself since everything else was so quiet.

I tried to figure out what I would do when I saw him but came up with nothing. After that, I sang and recited some of the stories Onii-chan used to tell me when I was little. All of this helped me to pass the time and distract me from my aching feet.

When those became boring I tried to remember the poem I'd written after my brothers death. It didn't' mean anything and had nothing to do with him; it was simply the words I wrote down.

That poem came to mind the moment I died…

_I wonder why. Hmm…what was it again?_

It was hard to remember all of it, even though it was short.

_Tatsuki-chan always said I had a bad memory…_

I concentrated harder and set my eyes on the ground as I walked.

"Let's see… the first line was…"

Little by little I felt it coming back to me.

"'If I were the rain… that binds together the earth and the sky, whom in all eternity will never mingle…

Would I be able to bind-"

-"Two hearts together?"

The deep sound of his voice echoed around me and I felt my heart stop. My eyes flashed up in that second, searching for any sign of him, however I didn't have to search long.

He stood a small distance away, both hands at his sides.

I watched him and he watched me; neither of us spoke until his name finally burst out of me.

"Ulquiorra?"

* * *

**A/N: If you're wondering how Ulquiorra knew the end of her poem... Let's just say Orihime liked to talk in her sleep during her time in Las Nochas~**


	11. Closing the Space

From a short ways away he stood and watched me. He was back in the original form that I met him in and had a large cloak on to cover where the top part of his clothes had been ripped away, most likely from his fight with Kurosaki-kun. His hair was a little longer, but his eyes were the same brilliant green.

He didn't say anything and neither did I.

My mind was spinning, trying to think of something. I couldn't believe how quickly I'd found him. It was so sudden I could barely process it. Could this be a dream? Probably not since he looked different than usual. If this were a dream I would've seen him as his normal self.

It was time for me to tell him what I needed to say, but…what was that exactly? Up until now I thought the words would just come to me when I faced him.

At the same time, seeing him was like a breath of fresh air after nearly drowning. I was so awake; I felt like I'd been zapped by lightning.

What do I say? What do I do now?

"Inoue Orihime," he said in a low voice, interrupting my thoughts. I'd missed the sound of his voice more than I realized…

"_I guess… I just need to start talking."_

"Ulquiorra," I said, my voice small. "Thank goodness I found you." I didn't realize how true the words were until I said them. I guess a part of me believed I'd never see him again, yet here he was.

My eyes stung and I blinked. _Don't cry, don't cry._

"What are you doing here?" he asked. There was something different about the way he sounded. His voice was quieter…and a tiny bit surprised. I'd only heard his voice betray emotion one or two times before.

"I came to look for you," I answered. "I had to find you so I could make sure you're okay, and also…"

It was hard for me to say 'because I wanted to see you'.

"No," he said dismissively, and paused. His eyes were slightly wide, and he almost looked confused.

"Why are you here?" he asked slowly.

It took me a second to realize what he meant, and by the time I did he was speaking again.

"That which cannot be reflected in my eyes does not exist. Woman, my eyes can see you right now. **How?**"

"I-I woke up in Soul Society. I found myself there after I died…" my voice trailed off as I noticed him watching me. His head lowered and he stared at the ground.

"I see."

He didn't say anything more.

I stood and watched him watch the ground. The silence was deafening. Having him here, so close – I wanted to go to him.

"Ulquiorra…"I began, unsure of what I was going to say. I took a step forward and his head snapped up.

"I was worried about you. I…" _I wanted to see you._

I wasn't brave enough to say that, but maybe I could muster up the courage for something else…

"May I…go to you?"

I had to ask first. If I went toward him without saying anything he would get angry.

My voice sounded thick with tears even though I wasn't crying.

"Woman, you saved my life. You may do as you wish."

Was that a yes?

I took a hesitant step forward and then another. He stood and watched me walk without making any sign of disproval. My hands shook beside me as I walked over to him.

Then he was right in front of me, and I had to look up so I wouldn't break eye contact.

_Are you really here right now?_

I wanted to see for myself. Nervously, I reached out to him and then laid my hand on his arm. He didn't shrug me off but instead looked down at the place where my hand rested.

I could feel the hardness of his arm and the coolness of his skin – it wasn't a dream.

"You're here."

I said the words out loud without meaning to, and looked up in surprise.

His eyes watched me and had an unexpected look to them. They were deep and sad as always, but there was something new there… warmth. I didn't understand it.

"Woman," he began to say, "You're-"

His head snapped up in surprise and so did mine. We could both sense a foreign reiatsu.

"_Wait,"_ I realized. "_Not just one. Fifteen…maybe twenty. Hollows? Even if they're only hollows, they feel strong."_

Ulquiorra was tense beside me.

"This is not the place for discussion," he said with a sense of urgency. "Let's go."

"Go? Go where?"

"The place I've been living. It isn't far."

He took hold of my shoulders and before I had time to ask what he was doing the ground had disappeared and we were flying across the desert.

"_Sonido!?"_

With a gasp, I realized Ulquiorra was holding me tightly in his arms, keeping me from falling and dying I supposed. I grabbed his shoulder to steady myself and held on. My chin was also rested on his shoulder and our heads were close enough I could hear his even breaths.

The presence of the hollows was fading the further we got away.

He seemed to be in a hurry and I wondered why, but then I knew I was probably reading him wrong. Ulquiorras actions were just as confusing as always. He hadn't even given me the chance to ask where he was living, but that wasn't a surprise.

For now, even though we were racing across the desert at lightning speed, I wasn't afraid. The worst thing – separation-wasn't going to happen anytime soon, so what was there to fear? No matter what might happen next, I would be with Ulquiorra.

**A/N: Yay, yay! Ulquiorra's here! Maybe now this can become an UlquiHime fanfiction!?**


	12. The Answer

**A/N: A longer one this time! And I hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

The rock I sat on was hard and cold.

When I first met Ulquiorra he looked at me in a way that was similar to this rock: hard. Cold.

But the Ulquiorra sitting several feet across from me in the dimly lit cave was different. His eyes were not dead but alive, and his stare was scrutinizing, but it didn't make me nervous. Maybe it was the hint of warmth I still thought I saw in those eyes that made me not anxious, or maybe it was just that I'd wanted to see Ulquiorra enough to come to this dark world.

Whatever the reason, I wasn't worried but strangely calm. Before I died, it had been difficult for me to just talk to Ulquiorra, but right now I didn't feel as afraid as I once did. I needed to talk to him if I wanted to figure out my own feelings… And also…I wanted to hear his voice.

Blurting out the first thing that came to mind, "Ulquiorra, what have you been doing since we last saw each other?"

"_What sort of question is that!?" _I immediately yelled at myself. That's the kind of thing I asked Tatsuki-chan after summer vacation was over.

Ulquoiorra's answer was blunt and monotone as always.

"I have been doing nothing."

I froze, suddenly awkward. Inside I scrambled to think of something else.

"You look different than when I last saw you. You have that cloak now," I indicated to what he was wearing.

Again I felt like an idiot. Why would I point out something obvious like that?

"I stole this from a dead arrancar. It is better protection from the sand and wind than my other clothes."

"Oh…" I answered stupidly.

I looked down, my calmness gone. Who was a kidding? I **was** too nervous to talk to him.

"Why are you here?" he asked suddenly. The question was a demand; too intense.

And my answer was simple enoughbut I was tongue-tied. _I wanted to see you._

It was too hard to say.

He pressed further. "You said you came to see my current condition – why?" His mouth became a hard line and he almost looked suspicious.

My own words 'I had to find you so I could make sure you're okay' were different when they came from Ulquiorra. Still, the idea was the same, and he was waiting for me to answer. So I took a deep breath and tried to.

"I… don't really know." That was partly true. "When I last saw you, I couldn't be sure… I'm sure I just imagined it, but I was afraid… you might feel guilty over my death. I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt or sad… even though I know that's ridiculous," my last words came out rushed.

I hadn't really given voice to this feeling before. It sounded even more ridiculous coming out of my mouth, and I felt myself blushing in embarrassment. Not to mention it wasn't the whole truth.

When I glanced at Ulquiorra he was looking away, as if he was lost in thought…

"Why does that matter to you?" he asked, still looking to the side.

Slowly, his head turned back to me. His eyes were tightened, and he almost looked…unhappy.

"Even if an Arrancar could feel _sadness_ as you humans call it, why would that concern you?"

I was startled by what I was hearing. Normally, Ulquiorra would disregard the idea of an Arrancar feeling **any** kind of emotion.

"Because I... don't want you to be sad." I didn't have time to regret blurting out that one because Ulquiorra was watching me with a solemn face.

"I am not sad," he said very quietly and glanced down. "Only empty." It was said so quietly I wasn't sure I heard it right. Although he denied it…he **did** look sad, as impossible as it sounded. It twisted something inside me. I wanted to say something that would erase that look on his face.

"Is this where you live?" I asked quickly, hoping to distract him. "I like it. It's not very spacious, but if you put a fire right there" I pointed toward the floor space between us, "it would be warm. Maybe even cozy," I smiled. "Do you like it here? I know it's not as nice as Hueco Mundo...(_at least, to me it isn't_) but if you like it better than there… Is that why you left?"

He was staring at me with too much intensity again.

"Why are you here?" he repeated his previous question. I was confused since I'd already answered him. "What you said before was not the truth." It was a statement with no doubts. Before, I gave Ulquiorra a half-truth and somehow he'd been able to tell. Now I could see he wasn't going to let it go. For some reason, the answer to that question seemed to hold importance for him. Of course it did for me too, but not for the same reasons as for him…

_Why am I here?_

I knew the answer but it was almost impossible to say. I felt my whole face heat up and I looked down. My heart was thumping out of rhythm.

"_Just say it."_

I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself.

"I-" the word was a squeak and I swallowed so I could answer him properly.

"I wanted to see you."

I would've sighed in relief if my muscles weren't so tense. I was too afraid to look up and see his reaction – or worse, see no reaction.

"Why?"

His voice was softer than I'd ever heard it. Not that soft for a human, but for Ulquiorra…

That question made me look up, to see whatever expression on his face was accompanying that voice.

Of course, it was the same one I'd always known, but… his eyes had changed it into something else.

They were gentle, and strangely anxious.

Seeing this face of Ulquiorra, so different and also not very different at all, I felt conviction just as I had when I stepped in front of him, giving up my life in the process.

Ulquiorra could be cold and cruel, but he'd also watched me as if he'd understood me. Understood the 'me' that was inside of me. He tore me down with his words but I could never find the will to hate him. In his confusion he'd reached out to me with that same curiosity and asked me what the heart was. I'd felt the urge to tell him the answer to that and all his questions; I wanted to help him regain that piece of humanity that he sought after. Maybe it was during all that when I realized something: a heart wasn't something you kept for yourself. It was something you entrusted to another person, and before I knew it my heart wasn't with me anymore.

From the start, I'd always caught myself looking at Ulquorra's eyes. They were deep and bottomless, watchful and sometimes curious… They were so interesting, but only a part of him.

Ulquiorra somehow understood me. I wanted to understand him too. I wanted to know more and more about him, until I could become the one to truly know him. I wanted to share my emotions with him and help him to find the heart he'd lost. Without my realizing it, he had become everything that was important.

In the moment before my death everything became clear and I was able to realize this. But once I woke up again, I wasn't sure anymore. What were my real feelings for Ulquiorra?

Now, I knew the answer.

I love Ulquiorra.

He wanted to know why I wanted to see him? Why I **had** to come find him?

Although I'd really found the answer this time, I didn't think I could say it out loud. Instead, I looked straight at him and tried to give him the best answer I could.

"I came… because I wanted to get my heart back."

A weird way to word it since I wasn't taking my heart away from him. It was with him now, and, probably forever.

I don't think he fully understood my answer, but I **couldn't** make it clear for him and tell him outright. Now that I knew how I felt, I also couldn't deny a very painful truth. Ulquiorra's feelings would not be the same as mine. It was more likely that Ulquiorra would want nothing to do with me if he knew the truth. He'd see me as a nuisance.

"I don't understand," he interrupted my thoughts. He was watching me, his eyes not showing confusion but giving a sense that that was what he felt.

He stood and came toward me. I froze.

Standing over me, he asked "Have you lost it? Your heart?"

His hand raised slowly, like a memory from another life, and touched the area where my heart was.

"Your heart is still in you," he said, almost to himself. I had no idea what to say. Blood was rushing to my face and I worried he would feel the changed rhythm in my heartbeats. Fortunately, before that could happen he dropped his hand back to his side although he continued to watch me closely.

Somehow I had to change the subject before I started blurting out my newfound feelings for him.

I started opening my mouth, ready to say anything that would distract him from asking me more questions but a loud sound interrupted me. It was the roar of a hollow with a reiatsu strong enough to shake the ground, and it was close. We both started, and I stood up, mentally reaching for my shun shun rikka.

With a crash the ceiling of the cave burst open and debris poured down. Within a second Ulquiorra had drawn his sword. The hollow didn't even have time to roar again before a slash split his mask wide open. I stood frozen in place by how fast it happened. In two seconds the hollow was disintegrating and Ulquiorra was sheaving his sword.

"Are you hurt?" He asked. I realized he meant me and slowly shook my head no. "But your home…" I murmured, my eyes trailing up to the ceiling that had been torn apart.

"I will find another." The ceiling didn't seem to bother him and it looked like his mind was elsewhere. He looked at the place where the hollow was still disentegrating. "It isn't safe here."

His words startled me. What wasn't safe? Why would **Ulquiorra **ever worry about danger? He was practically indestructible.

"The hollows can smell you woman."

"What?"

"You are a human spirit with an abnormal amount of spirit power. Every hollow near us will be able to sense you and it will look for you. You should go back to your world."

The words were simple; matter-of-fact. They shouldn't have hit me as hard as they did.

"Go back?" I asked in a quiet voice. "I just got here…" _I just found you._

"Go immediately. You don't belong here."

I could translate that easily. _You don't belong with me. I don't want you here._

Wringing my hands together I tried to think of something to say, any excuse that would give me more time.

"I…I don't know how to get back."

"Garganta," he said in explanation.

"I know, but I don't know how to open the gate. "

"I will open it for you then."

His face was empty of its earlier warmth. He turned away from me and began to walk out of the cave.

_Am I supposed to follow him?_

I had no other choice. With clumsy steps I hurried after him. He was just outside, with a rip already forming in space.

_He's already opened it? _ I thought I might sink into the sand. When he turned back around I tried to conceal my feelings under a smile.

"It's ready," he announced. And so it was.

"Well…It was good seeing you…" I said awkwardly. His face betrayed nothing, but he was watching me.

"This way," he said while stepping inside the fragmented space.

"Wha-Where are you going?"

He turned around with a familiar set to his mouth. I'd always seen it as his annoyed face; it was the one he always made when I was being stupid.

"The living world. I will be taking you back there."

So he wasn't going to just push me through to fend for myself? A little of my lost hope came back to me. "Why?" I had to ask him.

"You saved my life woman and I will not be able to repay my debt if you die on the way to the human world."

That was all he had to say. He turned and I raced after him through the dark hole, feeling a fierce relief at the sight of his white coat stirring as he walked.


	13. Follow

This time I didn't have to create my path in Garganta. Ulquiorra did it for the both of us. He walked without hesitation and spirit particles formed effortlessly at his feet while I carefully followed a ways behind. It was still hard to believe Ulquiorra had wanted to help me get home. I'd been expecting anything – him ignoring me, him attacking me, but not this.

Despite his skill at moving about in Garganta, the path he made seemed unstable with two people on it. At the same time, it was hard to take my eyes off of him. A few times I accidentally went too close to the edge and the spirit particles crumbled where I stepped, making me jump back. The third time this happened Ulquiorra broke the silence.

"What are you doing? Walk nearer to me. The path I step on is hardest; walk closer or you will fall."

I went a little nearer, but my embarrassment kept me from going farther. Apparently I wasn't close enough because he suddenly stopped and looked at me with a hint of annoyance.

"Didn't you hear me?"

"I came closer!" I countered stubbornly. He sighed, grabbed my arm, and wrenched me forward until I was mere inches away from him. "Keep this distance behind me," he ordered without a hint of amusement. I felt my skin tingle where he'd touched my arm and clamped my hand over it to make it stop.

_As bossy as always I see._

As instructed, I stayed much too close behind him the rest of the way. Now and then I bumped into his back, which made me stammer an apology and become even more embarrassed. I probably seemed much dumber than he remembered.

…

The passage was dark.

Sometimes I would glance over to make sure he was still there, and then my eyes would linger on his face. I found myself wondering if his features always looked so soft, and if his eyes had always been such a deep green. I started staring at them until I would look away, flushed with embarrassment. My heart was thumping unevenly in my chest and I felt strangely nervous. It was weird feeling this way around him and I didn't understand it. I wanted to reach out for his hand but just the thought of it was shocking and unbelievable! It was like a tiny version of me was running around in my head, scolding me and flailing over these strange impulses.

Is this how it usually is when you're in lo-

No, I couldn't even think it. It was ridiculous. Me and Ulquiorra? We were as different as night and day, as the sky and the earth. Arrancar and human.

A sigh escaped me. I thought I saw him glance over at me.

"Are you tired?" his subtle voice broke the silence.

"No, I'm okay." My reply came out sounding down and depressed without my intention.

"I understand that humans develop fatigue easily."

"But I'm not human anymore," I countered in a dismal voice, the words hurting as I spoke them. "I'm…dead."

Ulquiorra didn't seem to understand my tone. "You are a spirit with strong reiatsu. If you go without food you will weaken."

"I know…" I realized I **was **hungry. It was hard to remember the last time I'd eaten and I doubted Ulquiorra had anything with him.

"Tell me if you're unable to walk," he went on. "I'll carry you."

"Don't be ridiculous," I laughed, trying to keep my voice even. I couldn't look for a deeper meaning behind anything Ulquiorra said. I knew he was only being practical like always, but I couldn't stop from imaging the scenario. "I can walk on my own. I'll be fine."

_I'll be fine. Even when you drop me at home and leave me, I'll be fine…_

The rest of the way, we didn't say anything else and the living world came much too fast.


	14. Knight

The tear in space opened, revealing my street in Karakura. I was surprised Ulquiorra actually knew where my house was.

We stepped out of Garganta and onto the road. The night was lit by stars and the occasional streetlamp.

"I'm home," I whispered, the sight of my apartment in the distance giving me a feeling of security. Heavy hearted, I looked back at Ulquiorra. He was looking at the sky and didn't seem in a hurry to leave.

Maybe it was silly and pointless, but I would try to keep him here for as long as I could.

"Are you going to walk me home?"

He blinked. "Your residence is no more than 300 feet away."

That wasn't a no. "Come on!" I began walking and swinging my arms, trying to look unconcerned. The truth was, I wanted him to follow me, but I was too afraid to look back. When I heard the quiet footsteps sound behind me, I broke out in a smile.

I tried to walk as slowly as I could without being obvious. These could be the last moments I would spend with him. I could see the rest of the night looming ahead of me. Even if it was gret to be back home, I knew I'd be crying for a long time tonight.

_Ulquiorra, what will you do after this? Will you help look after Hueco Mundo? Can I visit you there sometime?_

I wanted to ask these things but the words wouldn't come. My apartment drew closer and closer.

I stopped before we reached it.

"Ulquiorra, would you-"

A deep roar filled the sky; reiatsu shook the ground.

"A hollow!?" I scanned the surrounding buildings for it. Ulquiorra was immediately on guard.

Suddenly I saw something massive behind him.

"Look out!" He blocked the hollow's giant swipe with his arm. I stepped back as the dark shape took a clearer form. The enormous masked beast towered over the apartments next to it.

"A Huge Hollow?" Ulquiorra said in mild surprise. "And foolish for trying to attack _me_."

He sprang from the ground and damaged the hollow's mask, but it was able to block him from doing more. Landing on the roof of the building, he took his stance to strike again when another roar sounded behind me. I spun towards the sound just in time to see an enormous hand about to crush me.

"Santen Kesshun!"

Just in time, Hinagiku, Baigon, and Lily materialized the shield, stopping the monster's attack. It was another Huge Hollow, crawling out from behind my apartment building. It's green, four-legged body was hideous; the reiatsu pouring out of it was stronger than usual.

It reared up to attack again, but this time I was prepared.

"Koten Zanshun!" Tsubaki sped towards the hollow, cutting it in half in lightning speed. Its body began disintegrating and I relaxed.

"Orihime!" Tsubaki suddenly cried in warning.

Something strong snapped around me and snatched me away. Screaming, I watched the ground disappear and the tops of buildings whiz by, leaving me dizzy. I realized too late that I was in a hollow's firm grip – a third Huge Hollow! Beating at its fingers, I tried to squirm loose. Down below, Ulquiorra was still fighting the first hollow – wait, no! He'd destroyed its mask and was flying toward me at a deadly speed. My hollow captor sprang off the ground and the world turned upside down. I felt horribly motion sickn and the hollow was squeezing me; I couldn't breathe. My vision went black.

Even about to go unconscious, I recognized the sound of a hollow's mask breaking. Suddenly I fell from the creature's hand and tumbled through the air until a pair of strong arms caught me. I felt us floating through the air until the ground was beneath us again and when my vision cleared up I found myself looking up at Ulquiorra.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

I tried to sit up and felt pain shoot through my side.

"Ow!"

"What is it?" He almost looked worried, but no – the pain must have impaired my eyesight.

"Nothing, I'm okay." I got to my feet and brushed the dirt off my clothes, careful not to bend in a way that would be painful. "But where did those hollows come from?"

Ulquiorra looked over at the disintegrating body of the hollow that had tried to eat me.

"I should have realized when I saw you," he said to himself. "And I did not. I wasn't thinking rationally…"

He was looking off, his eyes troubled.

"Ulquiorra?"

Turning to me, he continued. "Woman, you were a strong human. And now dead, your aura and smell…It draws them. Even across long distances."

It took me a second to understand what he was saying. My smell was strong enough to attract three huge hollows?

"No, no," I shook my head. "How is that possible just because I died?"

"When a powerful human like you perishes, they become a truly rare soul. Your scent is very potent to them now and you may not be able to live as you once did. Even if you confine yourself to a faux body, the scent may still be too strong."

It felt like the air had gone out of me and I needed to sit down.

"What do I do then?" I asked, not really expecting an answer from him. "They're going to keep coming after me?"

A tinkling bell sounded, stopping me there. We turned toward the sound as a round door appeared, glowing in the street.

"The Senkai Gate?"

I sensed Ulquiorra go rigid as the door opened. Out walked Captain Soi-Fong, Captain Ukitake and…Kuchiki-san! The sight of her reassured me after the frightening ordeal I just went through. "Kuchiki-san!"

She didn't say anything and her face was apologetic. She looked down at the ground.

I looked at the other captains, apprehension creeping in.

"Ukitake-san, what's going on?"

"Ah, good evening Inoue-san," he greeted with a smile. "We're here to-"

"I'm here to question the arrancar," Soi-Fong interrupted. "Ukitake and Kuchiki are only here because they asked to come, but their presence won't change a thing if I don't like your answers arrancar. Why are you in the human world? This is a violation of your treaty with us."

Ulquiorra stared her down. "I am only here to ensure the woman's safety."

"See?" Ukitake broke in. "I explained this to you. Where Inoue-san goes and who she talks to is her business. There's no problem here."

"Except for the fact that she brought him back with her," Soi-Fong argued.

"He only came for a minute, right? I'm sure he'll return to Hueco Mundo right away. This was no reason to come Captain Soi-Fong."

Rukia looked back and forth between the two of them and sighed.

Suddenly Ulquiorra's voice stopped them where they were.

"I am not returning to Hueco Mundo." The fighting captains grew quiet. My heart jumped at what I just heard; at the same time, worry seized me.

"What did you just say?" Soi-Fong asked, her voice dangerously low.

"I am not returning to Hueco Mundo."

"Are you saying you're willfully violating our treaty?"

Ukitake stepped in to calm the situation. "Wait, Cifer-san. Be careful. What you're saying is going to end you up in a lot of trouble."

"I am well aware of this, but I will not leave. The woman will not be safe."

"I've heard enough," Soi-Fong stepped forward. "Ulquiora Cifer, I'm taking you into custody for violation of your treaty. Captain Yamamoto will want to hear your reasons for going against it, so you better make them good if you want to live."

"Understood. I will discuss what to restate in the treaty, but the woman comes with us."

"Ofcourse, she'll be brought in for questioning too."

His eyes narrowed while her expression grew smug. My focus jumped back and forth between them.

"Wait Ulquiorra!" I yelled. "This is ridiculous! Ukitake-san you can't let him be arrested so easily. Can't we just forget about all this and let him go home?"

"Quiet." The command came from Ulquiorra. He turned to me and in a frustrated voice he said, "Woman, you never consider your own well-being."

Soi-Fong cuffed him to seal his reiatsu. Then she led him through the glowing gate and he disappeared from sight.

"Inoue?" Rukia asked, her voice concerned and nervous. "Are you coming with us?"

I swallowed the sudden need to cry. "Of course."

I wasn't sure what just happened, but I wasn't going to let Ulquiorra go alone.


	15. Caged

The second we made it to Soul Society they cuffed Ulquiorra and led him away. I was thankful he allowed them to do it and could only imagine what would happen if a fight broke out now.

"Where are they taking him?" I asked Rukia and Ukitake.

"2nd squad's holding cell," the captain answered. "The office of 46 will see him when they can, but it will probably take at least a few days."

"The office of 46? Because he broke his agreement?"

I watched Ulquorra leave, surrounded by several shinigami and captain Suifong. "Let me go with him."

"You can't Inoue-san," Ukitake said quickly. "He'll be confined for now. Wait until everything settles down and then you can visit him."

"When will that be!?"

He had no answer to give me and I felt Rukia place a hand on my shoulder. I felt shame at raising my voice to Ukitake-san. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't let it bother you. I know this is hard, but you have to be patient."

"Right, Inoue," Rukia put in. "We'll get this figured out. Until then you can stay with me."

"…Thankyou." If only I could feel reassured.

* * *

[The 2nd day in Soul Society] - Ulquiorra:

...

The only illumination I had was given by the strands of moonlight coming through the cell window. That light reminded me of Hueco Mundo and of nothingness.

This chamber was dirty but I didn't dare ask for something more adequate. I was their prisoner now and they had power over me. Knowing that made me want to rise up and dispose of them. I had nearly lost restraint when they cuffed me like I was one of them and put me in their prison, but I could not retaliate. It is a human quality to give trust to those deserving. At the moment I was not deserving in their eyes because I had broken our agreement. Perhaps when they originally met with me I should have made it clear that agreements were useless if they jeopardized the woman's safety. But at the time, the woman had been dead.

Now she was alive.

I leaned back and watched the moonlight glint off of the cell wall. Its stone was hard, cold, and dirty, but underneath that light its dull color brightened and gleamed. The stone came alive beneath the light, as I had.

I was not a wall, but a statue welded to the ground beneath the night of Hueco Mundo. Because I was fulfilling my purpose I believed myself infallible. Unchangeable. But the sun broke through the clouds, breathing its life back into me. My stone limbs had begun to move again when she appeared alive before me.

The woman lived. Upon first seeing her there was a strange confusion and feeling of awe. Awe because she could not be there yet I was seeing her. Confusion, because I knew my eyes were lying but I didn't want her to leave. These strange…emotions inside me. It was hard to name them, even to myself. All I could explain was that the nothingness vanished the second she appeared. Like a beacon of light, she'd cast all the shadows away, leaving me nothing to shield myself with. It was as if I couldn't shut her presence out of my mind, even when she wasn't near. She was taking over me.

Once, I would have fought this weakness until it was destroyed. Now, I was accepting it without a thought. It seemed right, somehow, that she should have power over me. I **did** owe her my life. But there was more to it, and it was impossible to explain. All I could clearly grasp was that seeing her alive had filled me with a floating sensation. I wondered if the emotion I felt was the "happiness" humans spoke of. It wasn't empty like the happiness I'd felt before. There was warmth in it, and energy.

I also knew that I wanted to see her. If they had any intellect, the shinigami trash would hurry before this new impatience I was feeling took over me.


End file.
